


The Lost Knight

by PlainKate



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: AU, Fantasy, diego is soldier/guard in another kingdom, entirely for my own enjoyment, essentially, klaus is a street urchin, klaus is a witch, kliego - Freeform, kliego au, weird medival au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-01-15 14:29:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21254870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlainKate/pseuds/PlainKate
Summary: kliego in a weird, medieval au absolutely no one needed or asked for. But it was fun to write, and is fun to read!Comments are much appreciated if you liked this weird au





	1. Chapter 1

The raucous shouts of the sailors mingled with the seagull’s cries overhead as the waves crashed against the wharf. It was a beautiful day, rare this time of year, and the usually grey sky was clear and bright, the sun beaming down on the tops of the boats at the dock; Nonetheless, it was still a freezing cold day.  
“I love you so much, my darling,” murmured the blond woman to the boy held in her arms. He buried his teary face in her hair- he was almost as tall as her now, his long gangly limbs still awkward and clumsy, not used to his height yet. He clung to her like a drowning man.  
He whispered hesitantly, “Mama, I’m scared.”  
He took in a shaky breath, and words flew out of his mouth, slowly getting faster and faster, “I’m small and young and what if I have to fight? I’ve never won a fight- mama what if I die? What will you guys do then? Who can support the family? Mama, w-what if the ship sinks?? What if-”  
“Shhhh,” she murmured into his ear, stroking his head slowly, rocking him like she had when he was small enough he could still sit in her lap, humming a tune from his childhood. He slowly relaxed in her arms, and released his vice-like grip. She held him at arm's length, scanning her little boy with tears swimming in her eyes. He was still a child. Growing fast, yes, but he was still young... His bed would be cold. She may never see him again, she worried for him, she didn’t want him to go fight- one day a letter may show up at her door, with a man dressed in black, and she’d know her son was gone. But she pushed those thoughts away, forcing a weak smile  
She brushed a tear off of his cheek tenderly, and wiped her own eyes quickly on her sleeves as she said shakily,  
“Diego, darling, we’ll miss you so much, and we all love you with all our hearts. I’m proud of you. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Write when you can, okay?”  
He scrunched his eyes tight, and nodded slowly, smiling a weak, forced smile to try and make his mom feel better. She let go of his arms, and immediately some small arms wrapped themselves tightly around his knees. He crouched down, staring his little sister straight in her eyes. Her eyes were weary past her age, and she buried her wet face in his coat, clinging to it with her tiny fists.  
“Don’t go,” Vanya squeaked, muffled in his coat.  
He simply smiled sadly and planted a small, tender kiss on her head.  
He lied quietly, a knot deep in his stomach. “I’ll be back soon.”  
She nodded slowly, two tiny fists rubbing the tears off her face; Her mother picked her up and held her tight as Diego shrugged on his bag, pulling his fur hat on his head as the boat rang a bell, signaling the voyage was about to start. He wrapped his arms tightly around his mother quickly, planting a loving kiss on her cheek,  
“I love you guys so much.”  
She smiled sadly, tears threatening to spill down her blushed cheeks,  
“I know, darling. Write when you can.”  
Don’t look back, he thought desperately as he strode away. If he looked back at his mother’s red face, stained with her tears, he’d start crying himself. He handed his ticket to the man at the plank in a daze, half aware of his movements. A single foot landed on the gangplank, enveloped in a tornado of emotions and thoughts.  
I’m leaving my life behind. I’m leaving my family behind. I might never see them again, he thought despairingly, fully unaware of his surroundings at this point- his stomach dropped.  
I’ll never get to see Vanya grow up. I won’t be there for her birthday. I- I won’t see my mother every day. Who will I talk to?  
I might never see them again.  
A hand slapped his shoulder, and he whipped his head around, and the cloud in his head dissipated rapidly as the man behind him yelled, spitting on him unintentionally,  
“Can you just get on the fucking boat? There are people behind you.’’  
He hastily apologized and hiked up his satchel onto his shoulder as he disappeared into the dark hull, leaving his life behind.  
The years passed by.  
He’d been forced to grow up quickly. He had a deep scar on the side of his head from a battle with a conflicting kingdom, and he’d become very strong from living on a boat, an experienced soldier and sailor by now. His arms were muscled and tanned, large from the ropes to pull and from the strenuous activity that came along with the life of a sailor. He had been hired as a soldier, but most of the year was spent trying desperately to keep afloat in the roiling, deep dark waters that had become his new home.  
He was leaning on the side of the boat, the cold wind whipping through his short dark hair, sharp gaze focused on the horizon. Blue ocean surrounded him on all sides. He was weary and battered, scars decorating his tan, rough face. The soft, plump skin he’d had when he’d left his old life behind was completely gone, not a hint of the bright, innocent, young boy left on his dark face. If you’d only seen him when he was younger, there’s no way you would have been able to recognize him.  
He’d been gone for 4 years- His little sister would be 10 by now. He hadn’t seen her in that long. Increasingly, all his thoughts recently had been about his previous life. The cold, rocky grey shores he had lived among in his childhood was now only a faint memory. Now the sun beamed down on him every day on the ocean; His furry coat hadn’t been taken out from the bottom his satchel for years.  
When the dark overtook the sun and the moon rose in its place, he lay in his softly swaying hammock in the hull, eyes completely open as he stared into the black all around him. Images and memories of his mother floated around in the dark, visions of his little sister chasing chickens and laughing. He remembered the comforting smell of his mother’s baking that seemed to constantly fill the house, very different from the sharp, salty smell of the ocean he was used to by now, and her twinkling eyes as she had handed him a bag of cookies to take on the boat haunted him. The 5 years he’d been gone seemed like an eternity. He didn’t even know how far exactly he was from his cold, grey homeland- but he missed it so much his heart ached. He was down by the land with tall marble pillars, and with the people worshipping 7 gods, and building them temples under the hot sun. He thought it was ridiculous. At the beginning of his journey, he had fervently prayed to Njord, the god of the sea to protect him among the rolling waves- but he hadn’t prayed to any of the gods for years.  
No gods had ever saved any of the endless men that he had slaughtered in the various battles he’d been in. His own army would even have sessions before battles where they would all pray, and every time he watched those same men die. Religion had not helped anyone. He didn’t believe in any gods anymore. He didn’t believe in much anymore. The only person you could full heartedly trust was yourself.  
He had woken up today in a small, dank home in the heart of Greece. He’d become used to the small layer of sand that seemed to sit everywhere in the last year, no matter how hard he shook out his blanket- and the clamoring of merchants and the music constantly playing in the bazaar outside didn’t bother him anymore. It wasn’t that he hated Cyprus itself- no, that wasn’t it. It was a lovely little island in the middle of the Meditteranean, and was pretty if you enjoyed sandy cliffs and small shrubs dotting the landscape. He just resented the situation. His sword hadn’t seen blood in over a year, and his armor sat untouched in a corner. He’d been dispatched to Chios to help protect it- His kingdom had made an alliance with the royalty of the island, and had thus provided troops. The thing was- there wasn’t a battle in sight. He just roamed the streets aimlessly all day, only dealing with loiterers and petty thieves. In a slightly morbid way, he almost wished the city would be attacked, because then at least he’d feel useful again, he’d have a purpose again.  
He’d found himself slipping more and more into the longing for his home. Even his memories seemed dimmed and grainy- he couldn’t remember the color of his little sister’s eyes anymore, troubling him greatly. Lying on his bed in the dark, he’d often paint pictures in his head of returning to the village to a warm welcome, his mother throwing her arms around him in joy, and seeing his little sister grin toothily up at him. Come to think of it, she probably wouldn’t even do that- she’d be a pre-teen by the time he’d get back. The thought filled him with a deep longing to go home- but he’d signed himself into the army for 10 years. He’d only used 4 so far. He still had a long, long way to go until he could finally return.  
The sun burned the top of his head as he walked through the crowded, cramped streets of Cyprus, dodging the children running by. He’d been here for a very long time, enough to mostly understand Greek. He shoved his way through the crowded streets, looking around desperately to find somewhere to escape the crowd- and he hid in a small alcove, successfully escaping the crowd for just a minute. He sighed in relief, the cool bricks against his back a solace during the hot day; He leaned his head back against the wall, relaxing for the first time in days- that was, until he heard a shout from the stall around the corner.  
“Theif! Thief!”  
Diego shook away his daze and ran around the corner, almost getting knocked over by the small, thin figure that darted past him. Diego didn’t get a good look at the kid, but judging by the speed he was running, he was the thief the merchant was speaking of. Diego took off after him, heavy feet slamming against the ground, the sound echoing off the close walls on each side. The distance between them slowly closed, until the kid tried to dash around a corner and slipped, slamming into the wall next to him. He crumpled to the ground, holding his shoulder in apparent pain: Diego slowed down. The kid’s curls hung over his eyes as he looked at the ground, hiding his face. Diego crouched down.  
“Hey.. Are you okay?”  
The kid looked up, and Diego froze. The greenest eyes he’d ever seen shone brightly in front of him. He’d never seen someone like that, even back home, where a lot of people had light eyes, let alone in Cyprus. The eyes glittered in front of him, and he stared at them dreamily. As Diego stared, the kid started to get up, letting go of his arm and swinging it around easily, face completely clear of the pain it had shone a moment ago. Smirking at Diego, he turned on his heels and darted away down the street, disappearing in the crowd. Diego tried to get up and run after him- but he couldn’t move. He tried as hard as he possibly could- and he only could when the kid was 100% gone. What the hell?  
He stood up and stumbled slightly, trying to make sense of the situation he was just in. Was that witchcraft?  
He’d heard many a story about witches, both back home and here- he’d head they were horrible creatures, children of the devil himself- they caused people to be sick and made famines and plagues just for fun. And when they got angry? Just be glad you lived as long as you did. And apparently, he’d just met one.  
The encounter haunted his mind for the rest of the day, the glowing emerald eyes showing up all day- and at night, he lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, mind busy with thoughts.  
He realized, frustrated, that he couldn’t remember enough about the kid to try and hunt him down to properly arrest him for stealing- all he recalled were long brown ringlets and the emerald eyes. He raked his mind for any more scraps of memory. The kid had a pale, thin figure. That’s all he had. The rest of the night passed by with much of the same, and when he finally fell asleep, the emerald eyes haunted his dreams until he woke up.


	2. A Tease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit short this time  
Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you do and give me some head canons or ideas for the story

The next few weeks passed with much of the same- the monotonous routine of standing out in the sun for hours, patrolling the sandy streets with absolutely nothing to do. He had signed on to fight for his kingdom, not be transferred to help protect an ally of his country, and he felt useless. There was a war going on on the mainland of Greece, but he was stuck on this tiny little rock in the middle of the Mediterranean, many many miles away from the actual battle. 

That thief from the Merchants corner wouldn’t leave his mind- he’d never experienced a sensation like that before. He’d been literally glued in his place until the kid turned the corner and was long gone. Did he really encounter a witch? Witches had always been ugly crones with sharp teeth who came to eat children in the night. Those tales were largely told back home to scare children into not misbehaving, and he’d never believed it past the age of 10- Perhaps witches were different here? Maybe he’d been told an exaggerated story. That seemed the most likely at the moment. Or maybe his memory was playing tricks on him. Either way, that kid stubbornly clinged to his psyche for the next few weeks nonstop.

He’d found himself perking up when other guards would mention young thieves or urchins, but when he asked for more details, they always brushed him off or the descriptions wouldn't match the kid Diego remembered. He’d started to doubt his memory so much that he was close to entirely believing that he’d just been tired and hadn’t been able to get up- witchcraft was such an unlikely possibility at this point that he started to banish the thought when it came. 

The night hung heavy around him as he stood in the bazaar, squares of light decorating the pavement from the windows all around. Inside those houses families were probably eating dinner, laughing together and enjoying each others company. He quickly banished the thought from his mind. His did this quickly and expertly, attempting to cut off the possibility of any sadness coming up- he didn’t need that right now. 

He was intensely bored- the bazaar was essentially deserted, with only a few stalls still up, and he’d been stationed here all day. He’d seen people come and go, little children playing, mothers haggling for food, and lovers strolling through hand in hand. But the market was empty and mostly quiet now, and thus he was even more bored than he had been for the whole rest of the day.

A quiet shuffle made him turn his head, eyes quickly scanning around to try and find the culprit- but the darkness hanging around him made it hard to effectively see any details. Then, he heard another quiet shuffle behind him, and swiftly whipped around to squint into the darkness desperately. He put his hand on his sword hanging on his hip, heart beating fast. For all he knew it was an enemy soldier circling him- he was vulnerable in the dark, completely exposed. He tried to squish his fear, knowing that it was unreasonable, but it was blooming and spreading far faster than he could quarantine it. 

Suddenly, a loud bang came right in front of him, and he let out a rather embarrassing squeak as he jumped backwards, slamming into the wall behind him, knocking the breath out of him. As he bent over, trying to catch his breath, a small snicker echoed through the bazaar, slowly morphing into loud giggles, bouncing off the walls around them. 

“Where are you?” Diego demanded, quickly recovering, dignity injured as he tried to regain composure as the giggles moved around him, circling him, evidently highly enjoying taunting Diego.

“Still can’t get me? Maybe you should turn to becoming a fisherman or something, where you’ll actually catch something,” a gleeful voice whispered in Diego’s ear. Diego whipped around and grabbed the person by the neck, slamming them against the wall behind them.

“You little shit,” Diego hissed, hand tightening as the culprit coughed and struggled between him and the wall. 

The kid in his hand kicked him in the chest, pushing him down onto the ground, and all his breath once again left his body with a sizable thump as he hit the cobblestone below him. Clutching his chest, he wheezed,   
“You bastard!”

The kid giggled again, and Diego suddenly felt a weight on his chest- the kid was straddling him, he realized with a start, and the kid muttered in his ear,  
“You’ll never catch me.”

Diego quickly flipped over, laying on top of the kid, capturing his wrists and holding to the ground and he growled,  
“I already have, you little bastard. You’re coming back with me.”

The now familiar giggle came from the darkness below him. He felt a hot breath on his ear as the kid said,  
“Haven’t you already learned, Two? I’ll always slip out of your grasp,” and with that the kid was suddenly gone, and Diego was laying on the ground with nothing beneath him. The person beneath him seemed to have dissolved. What the hell? He scrambled to his feet, heart beating out of his chest. Was this that kid? 

“I’ll see you around, and maybe you can choke me in more ideal conditions,” giggled the boy in the darkness as he slipped away once again.

Diego stood still, darkness hanging all around him. Trying to chase the kid at this point would be pointless- he knew with a strong, sudden certainty that he wouldn't be able to catch the kid now. 

Was he going to be chasing this boy forever?


	3. The Cell

Diego had been assigned a job at the jail, processing criminals all day. On one hand, he was grateful that he was no longer burning in the Greek sun- that was a very, very positive development. As a whole, he was enjoying the new assignment, but a little voice was constantly in the back of his mind, clinging to his conscience like a little parasite, making him remember that damn kid. Before he’d been reassigned, he’d caught glimpses of the curls in the crowds, flickers of the emerald eyes between the bodies in the masses in the marketplace- and he couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination. Something made him long to get back onto the streets and look for that boy who always seemed to slip from his fists; the one who was always a step ahead of him no matter how fast he ran. It was slowly driving him mad.  


He heard the door into the station open with a creak, and in turning his head tiredly to look at the incoming criminal, he saw something that froze him to his chair in a sudden surge of emotion. Fire flooded his veins, and his eyes were glued to the person being led in in handcuffs- it was that boy.  
This was the first time he’d seen the kid in full lighting. The boy had a slim build, and didn’t look much younger than him, maybe 17. For a kid living on the streets, he looked more delicate and beautiful than he should have for a hardened street kid. He looked like a pretty little doll that you could break if you squeezed too hard- how the hell had this kid held him down?  


The boy looked up, and locked eyes with Diego- A mischievous, confident smirk was decorating the boy’s face, his emerald eyes glittering with a sense of power that intimidated Diego, but also excited him. Something about this kid wasn’t quite normal- and something about what this kid did to him wasn't quite normal, either. He had never felt this strongly about anything, or anyone. To tell the truth, he wasn’t just drowning in the boy’s eyes- he was entranced about everything: the muscles in his arms straining against the handcuffs, the sharp jawline, the way his dusty curls fell delicately over his forehead- the only way to describe the boy was.. beautiful.  


He was thrown back into reality by a sharp slap to the back of the head by his partner.  
“Diego, what the hell? We have shit to do.”  


Diego blinked rapidly, coming back to reality- he’d apparently been lost in his fantasies for a good bit, because the kid had already been led past him into the cells behind his desk. Diego shook his head violently, trying to banish the thoughts of the kid, and dove into his work to distract himself.  
He worked for the rest of the day, the same monotonous routine of filling out documents, stamping seals, and waving away to the criminals that were being led to the door. Sometimes they went peacefully, sometimes they struggled and yelled, and sometimes they cried. It was always hard for Diego when they cried- it would remind him of Vanya falling down, or stubbing her toe, and, worst of all, it would make him think of the tears that rolled down his mother’s face all those years ago when he left everything behind. It was getting to a point where he seemed to almost always be thinking about the boy, his mother, or Vanya. It was like his brain was always full of other people and, frankly, it was exhausting.  
The main person to fill his mind had become the boy, and the longing to find him was ten times stronger now he had seen the boy, and knowing that he wasn’t far away when Diego went to his assignment made it unbearable. The deep seated longing for the boy was almost a part of him at this point- he didn’t know why he had such a strong yearning for this boy. Was it sexual? Was it romantic? Who knew? Obviously not Diego.  


Night fell on the island, cloaking the roads in a blackness that was only penetrated by the squares of light from the windows all around. He was the only one left in the station, and the night made the thoughts of the boy explode so suddenly it surprised him- his entire body was filled head to toe with the primal need to see the boy, out of nowhere. On a split second decision, he quickly started to head to the cells, keys jangling on his belt as he strode quickly. His heavy footsteps echoed in the quiet hallway- as far as he knew the boy was the only one they had in the cells tonight, and he was determined to see the kid. Why? He wasn’t sure. He just knew the urge was suddenly so strong he couldn’t resist it; His feet were almost moving on their own. Almost like magic.  


He stopped outside the boy’s cell, suddenly nervous. He didn’t know how he was so sure this was his cell- there weren't any markings- but he was certain the boy was in there.  
“Come in,” purred a soft voice from within, and the mere sound of his voice made Diego’s hands fly up and unlock the door with trembling hands. As it creaked open, he put the keys deep in his pocket- he still had enough of his wits about him to make sure to not lose a prisoner. He walked into the dark, the door slamming shut behind as his heart threatened to beat out of his chest.  


He suddenly felt the familiar delicate breath on his neck, and immediately was reminded of their fight in the marketplace. What if the kid jumped him? Doubts started to fill his mind. Why was he here? How did he get there- but all at once the thoughts were shoved to the back of his mind.  
“Shhhh…. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you Diego,” The voice whispered into Diego’s ear, sending a shudder through his entire body.  
“What? How did you kn-,” Diego sputtered, but was suddenly cut off by the boy wrapping his arms around him from behind, planting kisses on his neck. Each one sent a fiery burst of adrenaline through Diego’s body, and all his doubts had suddenly left his mind- almost like magic.  


The boy turned Diego around and backed him up until the back of his knees hit the cot. He fell onto his ass on the hard bed with an audible oof, but didn’t have any time to recover because as soon as he was down, the boy had straddled him and had latched onto Diego’s neck, biting roughly, dragging gasps from somewhere deep down inside. Somewhere in the very, very back of Diego’s mind there was a tiny voice that was saying that he shouldn’t be doing this, that this was ridiculous, but he was in such a daze that he banished that little voice almost the second it started talking, and tilted his head back to give the kid more room. His hand instinctively flew up to grip the back of the kids head, fingers wrapped around the curls. After a particularly hard bite from the kid, he accidentally tugged, hard, and a deep, guttural moan was ripped out from the kid’s mouth, his hot breath on Diego’s neck- Diego’s blood drained quickly down to his pelvis, making him lightheaded. That groan had sent his mind places- dark, dirty places.  


At some point Diego had been forced onto his back as the boy hovered the cot, dragging deep, guttural moans and gasps from the man below him. His hands flew desperately all over the boy’s body; up and down his back, gripping his shoulders- there was a deep desperation from both of them that seemed deep and instinctual, and their bodies melded together in a movement that seemed so natural that it almost was like they had been carved from the same clay.  


“Well, that was fun. See you around, Two,” the boy whispered in the dark, and before Diego could get his wits back about him to realize what was going on, the boy was off him in an instant and he heard soft footsteps running down the hall, out of the station. The sound of the boys feet was accompanied by the soft jangling of Diego's keys, which were definitely not in his pocket anymore.  


Diego cursed loudly in the dark cell, the sound bouncing off the bars around him. How had he let that happen? He must have had been in a trance or something- how could he have been dumb enough to literally enter a criminals cage and.. His mind trailed off as he sunk back into the memories of the bites on his neck, the press of the boy’s body on his, and the deep, guttural moan he had dragged from the kid’s lips-  


“No, no, no,” Diego muttered to himself. He sat back down on the cot heavily, head in his hands. 

What kept drawing him to this kid?  


Who was that boy?


End file.
